Family Planning

The State of World Population (SWOP) Report, 2017, launched by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has placed Nigeria among countries with high rate of unintended pregnancies, with about 4million cases annually.

The report has blamed the situation on limited access to family planning which, it says, does not only harm women’s health, but also restrict their ability to move towards financial independence.

Rebecca Ejifoma who carried out investigation on the use of family planning by Nigerian couples, reports that the overall acceptance is still below expectations in the country.

Ruth and her children

Nigeria has made progress in improving the use of contraceptives over the past decades. However, there is room for improvement even in the face of longstanding myths and misconceptions concerning their use.

Worried by stock-out of contraceptive commodities and consumables, experts at the Performance Monitoring and Accountability (PMA) 2020, a recent family planning (FP) review, advocated increased funding for FP by state governments.

In view of high incidence of unplanned pregnancies, Funmi Olaolorun, the Co-Principal Investigator, PMA 2020, stressed that increased funding by state governments would tackle stock-out of contraceptive commodities and consumables in many states.

Akwa Ibom State Government has expressed its readiness to partner Action Health Incorporated, AHI, to scale up an injectable family planning method, Depot Medroxy Progesterone Acetate-SC (Sayana Press), in the state.

Speaking at a consultative meeting of stakeholders in Uyo, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, said the observed strong preference by many women of reproductive age in the state to Sayana Press informed the need to sustain and scale up the project.

Wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, says continuous investment in health care infrastructure is one of the ways by which the government can tackle the high rate of maternal and newborn mortality in the country.

She, however, added that the task could not be left to the government alone, stressing that private partnership was also very key.

Honourable Gudaji Kazaure, a member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives representing Kazaure/Roni/Gwiwa/Yankwashi Constituency of Katsina state was captured in a video clip in which he said forcing a Muslim to do family planning is forcing him to violate his religion.

The honourable member of the House says there’s no planning in Islam. "Prophet Mohammed says marry and have children so that I can be proud of you in the day of judgement.